Long Beach continues to grow its prominence as a world class hub for technology, research, innovation and worker training programs,” said Mayor Garcia. “The City is thrilled that BMW and UTI have made Long Beach home to the FastTrack program and are confident more automotive manufacturers will take notice of our region being home to the brightest talent, especially in promoting the most technically advanced brands.
Long Beach, Calif. (July 28, 2020) – Addressing a pressing need in Southern California for trained vehicle technicians who can work on BMW’s premier brand of vehicles, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) and BMW of North America this month has celebrated the inaugural class of students who recently completed the BMW FastTrack program offered at the campus in Long Beach. UTI-Long Beach is the fourth campus to offer the BMW FastTrack program. Previous BMW FastTrack rollouts include the Avondale, Ariz., Orlando, Fla., and Houston, Texas, campuses, with Lisle, Ill. and Exon, Pa. planned within the next several months.
“These are students who not only successfully completed the program at our Long Beach campus but who are now prepared to take certification tests to achieve BMW’s Associate Level Status and work as entry-level maintenance technicians throughout Southern California where dealers are clamoring for talent,” said Anthony Pham, Campus President of the UTI Campus. “The BMW FastTrack program at UTI provides the potential for students to get started on a career with BMW’s world-class brand and unique models, including preliminary training on growing hybrid and electric vehicle technology."
“We value the partnership UTI has built with BMW of North America and are thrilled the FastTrack program is not only here in Long Beach but now producing graduates who can get certified and come to work at our dealership,” said Henry Gelb, Shop Foreman for Nick Alexander Imports. “BMW’s technician development program is as world-class as our vehicles, and we are eager to attract more talent to join our technician network to develop their careers.”
In celebrating the inaugural class at the Long Beach campus, local elected officials voiced congratulations and support, including Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and Vice Mayor Rex Richardson.
“Long Beach continues to grow its prominence as a world class hub for technology, research, innovation and worker training programs,” said Mayor Garcia. “The City is thrilled that BMW and UTI have made Long Beach home to the FastTrack program and are confident more automotive manufacturers will take notice of our region being home to the brightest talent, especially in promoting the most technically advanced brands.”
“Long Beach has always been home to a highly skilled workforce and this news from BMW and UTI only proves that our talent pool is worthy of more investment from companies seeking to engage and attract technicians to this industry,” said Vice Mayor Richardson. “Automotive training programs in Long Beach should be celebrated more often and we know they will figure prominently in our local businesses being able to grow their employee base and expand their operations.”
The BMW program in Long Beach complements the automaker’s ongoing push into growing talent and helping promote its vehicles including hybrid and electrical vehicle models. BMW offers customers incentives for adopting advanced smart charging using BMW battery electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models.
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About Universal Technical Institute, Inc.
Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Phoenix, Universal Technical Institute's (NYSE: UTI) mission is to serve our students, partners, and communities by providing quality education and support services for in-demand careers. Approximately 250,000 students have graduated from one of UTI's 15 campuses located across Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Texas. UTI's campuses are accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), while its employer-aligned technical training programs are offered under four brands: Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute / Marine Mechanics Institute, NASCAR Technical Institute, and MIAT College of Technology. For more information and a complete list of all programs offered, please visit www.uti.edu or follow on LinkedIn @UniversalTechnicalInstitute and Twitter @news_UTI.
About BMW Group in America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 350 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 116 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
